On March 21-23, East Islip High School’s talented drama club performed the musical production Big Fish. One of the most important parts of the musical was the huge number of seniors who were in the cast that showcased their talents and brought the show to life.
If you are unfamiliar with the musical, you may be familiar with the movie or novel which the musical was adapted from. But if you are unfamiliar with Big Fish in general, here’s the premise: Edward Bloom used to tell his son, Will, these outlandish and overly exaggerated stories about his life. Eventually, Will grows tired of his dad telling these stories and tells him to stop. But
when Edward becomes ill, Will revisits these stories from his childhood to find out how his father’s story eventually ends. The show is very heartwarming and overall very vibrant and vivid which is expressed through the musical numbers in the show and the wide array of characters in the show such as a giant, a witch, a werewolf, and a mermaid.
Overall, the seniors played a major part in the success of the show and their hard work and dedication paid off.
Some of the biggest stand out actors were the two leading men Tyler Hilms and Keith Klein. Tyler is a phenomenal actor and has grown immensely since he started as a sophomore. Tyler has an amazing voice as well and was the perfect fit for the casting of Edward.
Keith also has a fantastic voice and it showed during his solo number “Stranger.” “Stranger” has this sort of tone about it and Keith brought it out during this number. His voice has this inflection that makes you feel something and during rehearsals and the openings of the show, we’d always tell him how amazing it was because it truly was as amazing as it was on stage.
Julianna D’Addario, who was Sandra Bloom, also did a great job. She is a very talented actress who had just committed to Nazareth University not too long ago majoring in musical theatre. One of her standout numbers for me was “I Don’t Need a Roof” which is this very emotional and somber number in the middle of act two. Her acting in that number was amazing, you could almost feel the drama and emotion from that scene while you were sitting in the audience.
Juliana Banville also had a standout performance as Josephine. She was also amazing as an elephant in the song “Closer to Her” where she was a featured dancer with Stephanie Sabillion-Nunez.
Stephanie’s performance as the witch was absolutely jaw dropping. Her stage presence absolutely elevated the number. “The Witch” number was probably one of my favorite numbers from the entire show mainly because of the choreography and Stephanie’s vocals during the number.
Julianna Azzizzo played Jenny Hill and was honestly built for that role. Jenny is this youthful, full of life cheerleader which is what Jules embodies. Not to mention, Azzizzo choreographed “The Witch” and the cheerleading portion of “Ashton’s Favorite Son” and did an amazing job.
Venti Ammenwerth was phenomenal as the judge, Erin Ackerman did incredible as the schoolteacher, and Emily Farrell had a stunning performance as Dr. Bennett. And last but certainly not least a huge shout out to Anna Franchi for being the student director and helping out backstage.
They were amazing on stage, but there is more to being a senior in the musical.
“It was cool to kind of be leaders for the cast,” D’Addario said. “It was nice to really bring the vibes up during rehearsals and make sure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing and kinda be able to help B (Director, Mrs. Affelt) a lot.”
Even though they’re all finishing the same way, each of these cast members had their own unique start to their EI Theater careers.
Some, like Klein, were inspired when seeing a musical for the first time. Others, like Banville and Sabillion-Nunez, balanced sports and theater before picking the theater path.
“I tried it again freshman year for Sound of Music but I was also doing basketball at the time, so I didn’t really have a lot of time to be like going to rehearsals everyday, so I just dropped it and didn’t do it,” Sabillion-Nunez said. It was sophomore year that she saw Azzizzo and Banville preparing for their auditions that she decided to audition. “I wasn’t planning on auditioning, and it was the last day of auditions so I decided to put my name down on the list last minute and I auditioned, and I got a callback. I was very excited about that.”
Azzizzo said that as she was in the audience for Sound of Music she “felt this presence” come over her as she heard people singing. “It literally felt like home,” she said. After that, she auditioned for Catch Me if You Can.
In D’Addario’s case, she was involved as a freshman. “I think just from that first year, having a great experience, I definitely want to continue that during high school and each year it was really fun and I made a lot of friends.”
Coming to the end of Big Fish and their theater careers at East Islip bring a lot of reflection and different feelings for the cast.
“I’m gonna miss my fellow seniors because we’re all going to different places in the country for college,” Klein said. “I’m going to miss the seniors but it was fun. It was a good show to end off on.”
Banville mentioned that everyday at rehearsals “was like hanging out with my best friends and that was such a special way to end my time in the music department.”
Looking at how the show has impacted their lives while at East Islip, Azzizzo says that she looks at the music department as a safe space for her. “Whenever I feel sad or worthless… I will go to the music department and everyone will be there, especially Mrs. Affelt, I can talk to her about anything. She’s so supportive, literally she’s my biggest mentor. I look up to her so much and she’s helped me so much throughout the years.”
These seniors were more than just a group that put on a good show. They will leave a lasting legacy in the theater department for years to come.
